A Red-Letter Day
by S. J. Iolanthe
Summary: A Mentalist/Dexter/Castle crossover. It's a lot of short chapters but I'm trying to do a chapter every couple days (that's better than waiting a month for a long chapter don't you think?) Red John (or someone who knows a lot about him) has killed Hannah McKay in New York City. Leave your reviews (good or bad), favorite and follow the story I promise you, you won't be disappointed.
1. Red Morning Light

Author's note: I do not own any aspect of Dexter, Castle or The Mentalist. All I claim ownership of is my own little adventure.

This story really hits stride in chapter 5, just give it a chance you won't regret it. (and on the off chance you do regret it pm me and let me know)

* * *

It's the darkest hour of the night in New York City. There is no moon out to provide comfort for worried souls, it is black as death.

In a penthouse in one of the more luxurious Manhattan apartments, a phone vibrates loudly on a bedside table.

On the other end of the line, a woman frustrated from being woken up at 3 in the morning, angrily hangs up on her boyfriend.

"So. What are we looking at Lanie."

* * *

The sun rises slowly in florida. A young women just last year promoted to lieutenant, is already hard at work in her brightly lit office.

A message pops up on her computer. A hit on an APB she posted 3 months ago.

"Suspect Hannah McKay, wanted for murder in the first degree. Was found dead in her New York City home on Tuesday the 19th of March. Under the alias Hannah Morgan"

"Fuck!" The woman shouts slamming her hands hard on her desk.

* * *

Dawn is breaking in sunny California. The grass is still wet with dew, the ocean is still sleeping, and the humidity has not yet set in.

The dreaded but inevitable call comes into the California Bureau of Investigation. An elegant dark haired woman answers, but she already knows what the call will say. She's been expecting the call for months now. Red John has returned.


	2. Born To Die

"Castle. Nice of you to finally join us." Lanie said as Castle walked into her morgue covered in snow.

It was bone-chillingly cold outside, but to Castle the morgue's brisk 35 degrees felt like a sauna. He shook of the snow hat that had fallen on him in the few seconds it took him to get from the parking lot to the building, and threw his heavy winter coat over his arm.

"Can we continue now? Or do you have snow in your britches too?" Lanie asked in her usual sassy way.

"No no. I'm good. So," Castle furiously rubbed his hands together. "wha-da-we-got?"

"Nothing much." Lanie said in an off-handed tone. "Stabbing and cutting of the torso, the fatal wound punctured the vena cava, she would've died within minutes but that's not the interesting part." Lanie teased as she snapped off one of her light blue latex gloves.

"What's the interesting part?" Beckett asked flatly as she and Castle looked over the body to find the 'interesting part'.

"Look at her toenails." Lanie said as she snapped the other glove off. "That's not nail polish."

"What is it?" Castle and Beckett asked together.

"The killer painted the vic's toenails with her own blood." Laney almost smiled. "Freaky right?"

"Yeah." Castle said bemused. "Freaky."

"You thought that was freaky?" Beckett teased Castle. "Just wait until you see the crime scene photos." Beckett smiled and walked briskly out of the morgue.

"Come on, that's not the freaky part?" Castle asked as he chased Beckett down the empty hallway.

"Nope."

"Then what is it? Was she found in a bathtub of cow's blood?" Castle begged.

"Nope."

"Was she spinning on the ceiling fan?" He asked like a child on christmas morning.

"Nope."

"Was she-"

"Castle stop." Beckett said authoritatively. Then softer "Just turn around, and look at the murder board." Beckett said pointing over Castle's shoulder.

Castle turned and a look of horror, shock and amazement came over his face. "No way." He said looking at Beckett who nodded at him. "Really?" He looked at Ryan who also nodded at him. "Seriously?" He turned his head slightly to look at Esposito, he nodded as well. "Here!?" He asked again, his eyes now transfixed on the murder board.

"Yes way." Beckett said mildly frustrated.

"Really." Esposito said as he walked towards the two of them with a slim brown folder in his hands.

"Seriously." Ryan said following tight on his heels.

"We just got the files from the California PD but..." Esposito started.

"But there's almost nothing there." Ryan finished with a neutral frown.

"What do you mean almost nothing?" Beckett asked.

"Wel-" Ryan began but Castle cut him off.

"Red John, also known as Roy Tagliaferro, also known as Dr. Joe N.H. Has personally killed 25 people - _that we know of,_" Castle said with heavy inflection, "from 1998 to 2013, and another 10 have been killed by his accomplices. He is a likely white male, and at least 30 years old,_ and_ he is married, to one Rosalind Harker, who knew him only as his alias Roy Tagliaferro." Castle said with the stern demeanor and feigned authority of a university lecturer. Beckett, Ryan and Esposito looked at him in awe. "Oh, I, ah. I used Red John as a loose inspiration for a serial killer in one of my early novels.

"Is there anything else?" Beckett asked Esposito dryly.

"Uh, yeah. He's under six feet tall with straight black hair." Esposito answered still half shocked by Castle's knowledge of the case.

"And a list of known associates." Ryan chimed in handing the file to Beckett. "All dead."

"Alright," Beckett said sounding hopeful as she tossed the useless file onto her cluttered desk. "So where do we start?"

* * *

"Mmm..." Dexter mumbled as he rolled over in his bed, the sound of his cell phone ringing clawing at his dreams and wrenching him into the real world. He grumbled again as he sat up in his bed and answered his phone. "Hey Deb." Dexter said as he answered his phone still half asleep.

"Dex, you need to get down here." Debra said trying to keep her voice calm and level, while still considering whether or not to tell her brother what she'd found out.

"Why, what is it?" Dexter said sensing the apprehension in his sister's voice.

"Ahh..." Debra hesitated, not know how to continue.

"Deb?" Dexter asked with all the fear of a small child.

"Dex, it's Hannah. They ah..." Debra paused. "They found her in New York. Dex, she's dead."

"Deb I... I..." Dexter stammered, his thoughts taking him to a thousand different places all at once.

"Look Dex," Debra said sorrowfully. "Just come down to the station, we can talk then." Debra wanted to hang up but couldn't for her brother's sake.

"Yeah." Dexter paused. "Okay." He said as he put the phone down on his bedside table with Debra still on the other end. Dexter put his head into his hands and sat in his bed, in his beautifully lit Miami beach house, and thought about Hannah - the one woman that he ever truly connected with - lying dead in her bed in a small dank and dark Manhattan apartment, and he wept silently and uncontrollably.

Dexter sat in his bed, but couldn't sit still. He got up and paced around the room, but it made him dizzy. He left his apartment and stood out on the balcony to get some fresh air and let the sun's rays wash over him.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

* * *

"Jane." Lisbon called as she banged on the solid metal door of the storage room, in the attic of the CBI building, that now served as Jane's 'lair'. "Jane are you in there?" Lisbon called. "We've got a lead on Red John."

And suddenly, as if those had been the magic words, the door slid open just enough for Jane to pop his head through. But he wasn't wearing his usual three piece suit, There was no vest to be seen, his blue button down shirt was unbuttoned, his grey pants were missing their belt, and he wore no shoes or socks.

"Are you living in here now?" LIsbon asked almost laughing, she'd never seen Jane in a state of undress before, whenever she'd thought of Jane she'd always visualized him in his three-piece suit.

"I wouldn't say that I'm living here but yes, I did sleep here last night, I have slept here in the past, but no, I am not living here." Jane answered while buttoning his shirt. "So, what's your lead?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in first?" Lisbon teased still smiling at Jane.

"Well normally I would," Jane shrugged. "But I'm not exactly dressed at the moment." He laughed.

"It's likely a copycat, but..." Lisbon paused nervous about breaking the news to her partner. "The report says her toenails were painted with her own blood." Just as Lisbon finished speaking the door was thrown open and a half-dressed Jane stole the file from her hands,

"What makes you think it's a copycat?" Jane asked as he stared at the crime scene photos, and quickly glanced over the file.

"She was killed in New York."


	3. Swing The Cellar Door

"Is there anything else Deb?" Dexter asked his sister as he paced restlessly through her office.

"No, sorry Dex. I requested the file from the NYPD but I haven't heard back yet." Deb answered as she sat slumped back in her chair.

Dexter didn't say anything he just kept pacing in the middle of room.

"Fuck Dex! Stop pacing would ya. I'm getting motion sick just watching you." Debra shouted at him in the same way she used to when they were kids. "Look, just go home. Be with your son. Masuka can cover for you. Alright?"

" know I've got to go up there." Dexter said half asking for permission from his lieutenant and half telling his sister he was going and that was that.

"Dex, you can't go. What about Harrison? What about your job?"

"Harrison can stay with his grandparents, they been dying to see him. Now seems like as good a time as any." Dexter said in a quick almost unthinking way, as his brain was hard at work on how to find Hannah's killer, and the joy he'd take in dismembering him.

"Even if you go you've got no authority, you're not a cop in New York. Where would you even start?" said Debra. She knew she couldn't tell him "No" or he'd go for sure, but she couldn't let him leave either, Dexter was all she had left in the world.

Dexter started pacing again, but quickly stopped and began to close all the window blinds in the room. Once he'd finished he sat on the cushioned wooden chair opposite his lieutenant. "Deb, someone killed Hannah. Someone very bad, and very smart, to kill Hannah he'd have to be. The police aren't going to catch him." Dexter said in his ominous and foreboding voice.

"You can't know that." Debra interrupted but Dexter raised a hand to silence her and she fell silent once more.

"I'm going. That's final." And with that Dexter stood up and left closing the door firmly behind him.

"Dexter!" Debra shouted in her lieutenant's voice as she marched out of her office. "You are not going to New York. That's an order." Everyone in the bullpen stopped what they were doing to stare at the of them as they shouted at each other across the room.

Dexter was halfway to the elevator, but he stopped and turned back to look his sister in the eye as he said, "Well I guess you'll have to fire me." He turned back around and continued to the elevator.

Mirroring him Debra turned around and walked back to her office and slammed the door. Fuck Dex, she thought to herself as she slumped back down into her chair. Why do you never listen.

* * *

"Jane, you're not going to New York. You're a paid consultant with the CBI you can't just leave because something more interesting comes up." Lisbon said as Jane was sorting what must have been his important files - as there were other files quite literally scattered and plastered all over the room - into a briefcase.

"Lisbon," Jane said as he stood up still not completely dressed. "We haven't had a lead on Red John since he killed Lorelie five months ago. Now this comes up and you want me to walk away from it?" Jane asked rhetorically as he fumbled for a shirt button.

"Yes. Because we both know it's likely a copycat, and a waste of time." Lisbon said plainly in her usual tone.

"Nothing Red John does is a waste of time." Jane interrupted. "If this is him, he did it for a reason." Jane began to button his shirt.

"You've got no authority in New York." Lisbon blurted out.

"I've got no authority here." Jane quipped as a response as he picked up his vest and put it on.

"You can't go-" Lisbon started but stopped.

"Why? Why don't you want me to go?" Jane said sincerely and stopped buttoning his vest.

"Because I love you." Lisbon said desperate not to let him leave.

"If I thought for half a second that you really meant it, I might stay." Jane smiled and began buttoning again.

Lisbon grabbed Jane's head to pull him down to her level and kissed him.

"Very convincing." Jane said with a smile on his face. "But I'm still going." He said as he bent to kiss her on the top of her head. And with his briefcase in one hand and his jacket in the other an almost completely dressed Patrick Jane pushed Lisbon out of his home away from home and padlocked the door behind him. "You know you can come with me right?" Jane said smiling as the two walked down the stairs and onto the main floor.

"No, I can't. I used all my vacation days during Christmas. But even if I didn't, my job is still here. They would never let me go to New York." Lisbon said very matter of factly.

"Okay. Well, keep me posted - I'll do the same." Jane said as he left without saying goodbye.

"Where's he going?" Rigsby asked.

"New York."


	4. When In Rome

"Hello." One man awkwardly says to another as they ride up in the small wood panelled elevator.

"Hi." The other man says, but you can tell by the way he says it that he's thinking of a million things at once.

"My name's Patrick Jane." The first man said.

"Dexter Morgan, nice to meet you." The other man says offering out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Dexter. Why are you here, if you don't mind my asking." Jane said.

"Oh, no no. My ah... My girlfriend, was killed last night." Dexter said pushing everything else out of his mind to make himself focus on this conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jane said sincerely and the two rode the rest of the way in silence. "Her name didn't happen to be Hannah McKay?" Jane said as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

"Yes actually." Dexter stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Jane. "How did you know that?"

"I'm involved in the case... sort of. I'm a Consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation." Jane smiled and walked out of the elevator with Dexter at his side. "I've been working on the Red John case for five years."

"Who's Red John?" Dexter asked still using his innocent voice.

"Good Question." Jane laughed. "He's a serial killer. I insulted him ten years ago and he killed my wife and daughter."

"I'm sorry. That must've been tough." Dexter said as sincerely as he'd ever said anything.

"You have no idea." Patrick half scoffed at the notion of someone actually thinking they understood his pain.

"My wife was killed by the Trinity Killer three years ago." Dexter said, the old memories of Rita coming to the forefront of his thoughts. He couldn't tell this man about his son, for all he knew Jane could be Red John.

"Sorry." Jane said ashamed of his thoughts. "Did they ever catch him?"

"No." Dexter said guarding himself, he didn't want to reveal too much of his true nature. "But he did stop killing." Dexter finished in a positive tone.

"Good. Good." Jane said in a suspecting voice, as the both walked toward the Captain who was waiting to greet them.

"Hello gentlemen. I'm Captain Gates, and you must be Patrick Jane and Dexter Morgan. Your departments called and told me I should expect you." Gates said with a kind smile and an authoritative voice.

"Departments?" Jane said aghast. "Where do you work Dexter?"

"I'm a Blood Spatter Analyst with Miami Metro." Dexter said, only for a second actually looking at Jane.

"Good, now that you two are introduced let's get the rest of the introductions out of the way." Gates said, the cracks in her feigned smile were starting to show, and both men took note of it.

The three of them walked through the bullpen and stopped at a woman's desk. "Beckett, this is Patrick Jane, a Consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation and an expert on anything Red John, and this is Dexter Morgan, a Blood Spatter Analyst with Miami Metro PD. They'll be consulting on this case, hopefully they won't prove as useless as some other consultants." Gates said with a poison tongue as she quickly turned and walked away.

"Love you too Captain." A large man called as Gates walked away.

"I'm Detective Beckett," The woman said as she shook hands the Dexter and Jane. "These are Ryan and Esposito." She said can the men all shook hands and said their own greetings. "and this is Castle, he's-"

"A Novelist." Jane interrupted. "I read one of your books once. Storm Warning I think it was called." Jane smiled as he shook hands with Castle.

"Oh yeah, What did ya think?" Castle said with a big smile painted on his face.

"Honestly, I didn't care for it." Jane said flatly as Ryan and Esposito chuckled slightly.

"Oh." Castle said the smile completely gone from his face.

"Don't take it personally, I always discover the killer early, and that always ruins the story." Jane said honestly. "If it's any consolation I found it a more pleasing read than a lot of Alex Cross stories."

"It is actually, I'll tell James that the next time I see him." Castle said with a delighted smirk.

"You_ know_ James Patterson?" Jane asked.

"Yeah we play poker together now and then."

"Oh yeah. You think I could play? I promise I'll let you win." Jane smirked back.

"You couldn-"

"Boys." Beckett said ending the conversation. "We do have a murder to solve."

"Of course, forgive me. Think we could head to the crime scene?" Jane asked.

"We've already collected and photographed everything."

"No offence to your team but I'd still like to see it for myself." Jane said as politely as he could.

"I'd like to see the crime scene too actually." Dexter said.

"Uh... Okay. Ryan, Espo see what you can find out on the vic." Beckett said as she grabbed her coat off of her chair.

"Right." Ryan said and the pair walked off together.

"You coming Castle?"


	5. Death Is Quick

To say that the room was destroyed would have been an understatement, the phrase "Burnt to a crisp" wouldn't even begin to describe it. All that was left to the room was a shouldering husk where the bed used to be and ashes that had once been a dresser, but the green walls, the windows and the door were all - for the most part - undamaged. But the worst of it was undoubtedly the foam that had extinguished the fire. It covered the entire room, the floor, ceiling and walls were covered in it, it was on what was left of the bed and the dresser but not a single speck of it was anywhere near the face. The face was completely untouched by fire or smoke, and was still the first thing you saw when you opened the door.

"What a mess." Castle said needlessly.

"I'll call an arson team." Beckett said as she reached for her phone.

"No, no." Jane paused her as he stepped into the room. "Let's have our own look around first. You can call them when we're done." With that Beckett put her phone away and followed Jane and Dexter inside.

"Looks like everything was set on fire separately." Castle said following everybody else.

"Yes." Patrick agreed. "But why?"

"To destroy any evidence." Beckett answered as if the question had been obvious.

"No." Dexter said from across the room. "If he were destroying evidence, why would he do it now?"

"And why wouldn't he torch the entire place?" Castle added seamlessly.

"And not to put too fine a point on it," Patrick piled on. "But if this was Red John he wouldn't have left any evidence."

"Alright alright, I get it." Beckett pleaded. "So why'd he burn it down?"

"Exactly." Patrick said as he aimlessly walked around the room.

"Gasoline." Dexter said standing over the bed.

"Patrick?" Castle said as he closed the door. "Were you expecting mail?" He asked holding a white envelope with Jane's name carefully written on it.

Castle carefully handed the letter to Jane, who then tore it open like a kid on christmas.

Hello Patrick,

I trust that by now you've met your new teammates, Richard Castle and Dexter Morgan, I'm sure that in time the three of you will become the best of friends. By now you must be wondering why I have assigned you a new team. The answer I assure you is quite simple: your old team had outlived its usefulness.

P.S. You may want to tell Dexter too call Miami Metro.

Before he finished reading Red John's letter, he was already on the phone to call Lisbon. "Call your precinct." Jane half shouted at Dexter in a panic.

"Lisbon. Lisbon can you hear me?"

"Jane?"

"Lisbon are you okay?"

"Jane. Jane he... He blew it up."

"It's a bomb!" Jane shouted. "Tell them all too get out!"

"No answer at the Precinct." Dexter cursed as he dialed his sister.

"Deb! Deb please tell me you're okay?"

"Dex! ..."

"Deb are you still there?"

"Dex... the fucking precinct blew up Dex."

"Deb? Are you alright?"

"Ryan!" Beckett shouted. "Ryan get out it's a bomb run!" She was on the verge of tears when she heard the line go dead.

* * *

"Hey, Lanie," Detective Esposito said as he popped his head into the M.E.'s office. "Ryan and I are going out for lunch, you wanna come?" Esposito asked.

"Hmm" Lanie began in her usual sweet sounding sharply worded tone. "Do I want to have lunch with my boyfriend and his boyfriend?" Lanie teased sarcastically. "No I've got a lot of work to do." She said dropping her veil. "Bring me back something good."

"Sure thing." Esposito said as he popped back into the main floor to grab his partner before they grabbed a meal. "You ready?" Esposito called across the room to Ryan who was putting on his jacket, completing his three piece suit.

"Yeah, one second." Ryan called back as he sent a text to his wife. Going out for lunch with Espo, bring you a burger on the way back, extra pickles, I know you've been craving them. Love you.

Esposito waited impatiently in the elevator for his partner, "Come on man." He called.

"Yeah." Ryan responded as he jogged to meet Esposito in the elevator.

"Texting Beckett?" Esposito asked on the short elevator ride down to the parking garage.

"No, Jenny." Ryan said plainly. "It like as soon as she was pregnant the only thing she'll eat is pickles. Right out of the jar, slathered in peanut butter, dunked in ice cream, it's all she eats now." Ryan said and they both laughed as the elevator doors opened.

When they made it to their car Esposito stopped abruptly. "Do you hear that?" he asked Ryan and a ticking sound rolled through his ears.

"Hear what?" Ryan said as his phone rang. "Just my phine calm down man." He said. "Hel-"

"Ryan!" Beckett's distressed voice on the other end called. "Ryan get out it's-"

* * *

"Quinn." Debra called as she strode out of her office, but Quinn didn't seem to hear. "Quinn." Debra said again and stopped in front of his desk.

"Hmm," Quinn said as he looked up at Debra. "Yeah boss?"

"I'm gonna go over to Angel's Bar for lunch, you wanna come?" Debra said with a quick glimpse of a smile crossing her face.

"Nah, sorry. I got work to do - they want me in court tomorrow, that drug dealer that got his head cut off." Quinn said with a stern face and emotionless voice, his short years as a homicide detective had almost completely desensitized him.

"Fuck." Debra cursed, though she had more experience on the force she still found herself offended by the more gruesome cases. "Sounds like a fun one." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah." Quinn said as Debra walked off. "Hey, tell Angel I'm commin' by for dinner." Quinn called after Debra.

"Sure." Debra called back as she walked into the open elevator and pushed the button for the door to close.

An officer greeted her as she left the building and he entered. It was a bright day, but not hot, being so close to the ocean left Miami in a perpetually cool state.

It was a short walk to her car, since she was lieutenant she got the spot right in front of the building. Just as she reached her car she heard a thunderous sound that came from almost directly behind her, she ducked for cover and rolled under her newly replaced BMW. After a few moments utter fear and panic, she could hear sirens in the distance and decided it was safe to come out. As she stood looking at the heap of burning rubble where Miami Metro used to stand her phone began to ring.

"Deb! Deb please tell me you're okay?"

"Dex! ..." She said then paused and began to cry.

"Deb are you still there?"

"Dex... the fucking precinct blew up Dex."

* * *

"Where's Lisbon?" Rigsby asked as he walked into the main room from the break room carrying a large steamy cup of coffee.

"Dunno." Cho said without looking up from his desk.

"It's," Rigsby paused to look at his watch. "8:30. She's never late."

"Maybe it's traffic." Cho offered his eyes still trained on his computer screen.

"Maybe she just didn't get up this morning." Van Pelt said her eyes also fixed on her computer.

Rigsby sighed and leaned against one of the unoccupied desks. "Yeah your probably right." He said as he sipped his coffee. The silence stretched on interrupted only by the sounds of Cho and Van Pelt's typing. "I'm gonna call her." Rigsby said as he set his coffee down on the desk and stepped into another room.

"Hello?" Lisbon said as she answered her phone using her car's built in bluetooth.

"Hey boss." Rigsby said half nervously, embarrassed at his need to check in. "Just checking in. When you didn't show up on time Van Pelt and Cho got kinda worried." He lied.

"Right." Lisbon said like she suspected something. "I'll be there soon, I slept in and got caught in the rush hour traffic."

"Oh, alright." Rigsby said, the last of his worries washing away.

"Yeah, I should be maybe-" Lisbon pauses when she hears a symphony of crashes and white noise. "Rigsby! Rigsby are you there!" She shouted as she began to fear what the noise may have been. "Rigsby!" she said one last time.

She heard the call waiting beep and more by instinct than by desire she answered.

"Lisbon. Lisbon can you hear me?"

"Jane?"

"Lisbon are you okay?"

"Jane. Jane he... He blew it up."

* * *

Time seemed to stop. You're breath seemed to catch in your lungs. And In that moment everything stood still.


	6. Just Breathe

"Deb I've got to go after him, he tried to kill you, what if he tries again? Or worse what if he goes after Harrison?" Dexter said plainly to his sister over the phone as he paced through his hotel room. It was impossible to get a flight going anywhere, the country was on high alert and he was stranded in New York.

"Dex... Just let the police do their jobs. Come home, please. Your son needs you._ I_ need you Dex." Debra pleaded between sobs.

"It's not that simple Deb. He's been doing this for 15 years and no ones caught him."

"But you can?" Debra interrupted. "Fuck Dex," she sighed. "Look, just be safe alright, this guys killed enough people."

"Alright. See you Deb." He said as he tossed his cell phone on the floral sheeted hotel bed.

_She's right Dex._ Harry said. _Where would you even begin?_

"I don't know where, but I have too look" Dexter said out loud too the voice inside his head.

_You've got nothing on him Dex, he's been doing this for 15 years and no one's even come close to catching him. This isn't like Miami where you can look at the computer to find your next victim, there is nothing on Red John._ Harry said staring at Dexter.

"I have to try!" he said angrily at Harry. "He killed Hannah, and he tried to kill Deb. I can't just let that go."

_And what if you die,_ Harry said. _You'd leave your son an orphan._

"He's got family," Dexter protested. "He's got Debra, Astor and Cody, and Rita's parents, they're all better for him than I am."

_Dexter,_

"I'm done talking."

* * *

"Lisbon!?" Jane said both excited and confused as Lisbon walked into his hotel room. He already had the walls covered in paper notes and photos, like a treasure map to Red John, but missing the red 'X'. "What are you doing here, I thought they cancelled all flights in and out of New York?"

"Yeah well," Lisbon began glumly as she threw her black travel bag on the shag floor. "It's easy when you travel with the FBI."

"Kirkland's here?" Jane asked quickly.

"Yeah, him and his team." Lisbon said absently as she sat down on the floral sheeted bed. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Well I assumed all my files would have been destroyed in the explosion, so I'm re-writing them." Jane said with a smile as he turned back to his work.

"Jane how the hell can you be so calm, Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho _died_ yesterday!" Lisbon said angrily as she began to cry silently.

"Do I look calm Lisbon!?" Jane asked back just as angrily. "I haven't slept, I haven't eaten, I've rarely gone to the bathroom, because I'm trying to find Red John. They were my friends too."

There was a long awkward sob broken only by the short muffled of Lisbon's sobs.

* * *

"How's Alexis doing?" Beckett asked as Castle made them both a cup of camomile tea.

"She's doing alright." Castle answered as he carefully walked towards the couch with a cup of tea in each hand. "Once she found out I wasn't in the building she seemed to be a lot better."

"That's good." Beckett said wrapping her legs in an afghan and her arms around Castle.

"How are you doing?" Castle asked. It was there first time together since the explosion, they'd been wrapped up in so much paperwork, and giving statements multiple times, but now they were together and something about it made them both feel better.

"Okay I guess." She said as she sipped her tea. She'd done all her grieving that night in a bathtub with a bottle of wine.

"Good." Castle said as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

Castle put on an old black and white movie, and he and Beckett fell to sleep in each other's arms. Neither of them dreamed, and that was fine with them.


	7. About As Helpful As You Can Get

AN: Changing the title. When the next chapter comes out the story will no longer be called "In The Red", instead it will be called "A Red-Letter Day"

* * *

"Remind me again, why are we doing this in my apartment?" Castle asked as he stared in bewilderment at the whiteboard Jane was setting up in front of Castle's 70" flat screen TV.

"You're the only one that has an apartment." Dexter said flatly while looking through a heavy briefcase of files Jane had brought over.

"Right." Castle said in his usual half comprehending way.

"This," Jane said as he finished setting up the whiteboard and walked over to white sofa where the other two men were sitting. "Is all we have on Red John." Jane said as he made a one-handed half-hearted gestured towards the briefcase of files and crime scene photos.

"Then what's on the whiteboard?" Castle asked leaning forward.

"Only things that we know for sure." Jane said in a grandiose way as he walked back to the whiteboard. "We know that Red John is likely a caucasian man, and because of his murders in the 90s we know that he is in his thirties or older. According to his wife he is under 6 feet tall and has short straight hair."

"Wait. He has a wife." Castle blurted out. "He has a wife and all she can tell us is that he's average height and has short hair. What, is she _blind_." Castle finished exasperated.

"Yes." Jane said plainly then continued. "He's not muscular, but not weak either. And he either has or can imitate a soft high voice."

"That's not much to go on." Dexter said as he picked up a stack of crime scene photos.

"No." Jane concurred. "Think of it as a puzzle, the things on the whiteboard, the things we know for a certainty are the edge pieces. And all of these are our puzzle pieces."

"What's this?" Castle asked as he picked up one of the photos that Dexter had tossed aside. "'He is mar'? what does that mean."

"Did you say Mars?" Dexter asked as he fumbled for a file. "Right here." Dexter said as he picked up a hand written file. "Ellis Mars, claims he's a psychic."

"Mar, not Mars." Jane corrected. "If it was that easy I'd have caught him a long time ago."

"I doubt it's him." Castle said. "I doubt the writing is refers to a name at all. If you have precious little seconds left you wouldn't write 'He is'. Also it's a grammatical error if it's a name or a noun at all for that matter, it has to be a verb, married or marked. It may not even be an 'r', he could have died while writing an 'n'. It could be many or mangled or... Or Manson." Castle said with a look of shock and excitement in his eyes. "What if it's the Manson family, you said Red John's style of killing was seemingly random stabs and slashes, that's the same thing that happened during the Manson murders. Our killer could have been a young cult member, and now he wants to make his own name."

"I thought it couldn't be a verb?" Dexter said bursting Castle's bubble.

"Besides," said Jane. "That would make are killing over 60 years old. Possible but unlikely."

"Also most Manson Family members were women." Dexter chirped.

"But," Castle began, bouncing back. "If it_ is_ a Manson family member he could have his own cult of followers doing the killing for him just like Manson did." Castle finished his smile returning to his face.

"Bret Stiles." Jane said, it was the first thing that popped into his mind. "He has a church full of followers who think of him as God." Jane paused slightly.

"We need to look into him." Castle said overly excited. We'll need to find another precinct if we want to access their databases." Castle said.

"I've already checked him out," Jane said calming the other two. "He's done a lot of things, a lot of illegal things, he may even be connected to Red John, but I never found anything about him being related to the Manson family." Patrick said steadily.

"That doesn't mean he's not connected," Castle insisted.

"There have to be members of the Manson family that aren't known to the police. It's conceivable that Stiles could have been one of them." Dexter said as he put the stack of files he was holding down on the table.

"Okay." Jane said accepting the facts. "That's a possible motive for Bret Stiles if he is Red John. But there's no way to know unless we talk to Stiles or one of the Manson family members." Jane said not sounding very confident in this train of conversation.

"Stiles probably wouldn't tell us if he was involved with Manson." Dexter said. "And none of us are police officers, we have nothing to offer any of the family members that are in prison, and no one knows where the rest of the members are living now."

"Look," Jane sighed exasperated. "All this is, is a guess, it's a good guess, but it's just a guess. We've hardly even started looking at the files. We can look into it, but..." Jane said frustrated with Castle. "We can't just look at one piece of the puzzle and say we've solved it when so many pieces left." Jane finished.

"Alright, alright." Castle submitted.

"Who else is on that list anyway?" Dexter said as he picked up the book again. "Brett Partridge, Ellis Mars, Dean Harken, Jason Cooper, Walter Mashburn, Vint Molinari."

"The more likely suspects are back 3 pages." Jane said. He'd read through it a thousand times, he knew every stray pen mark on it.

"Gale Bertram," Dexter continued," Bret Stiles, Ron Anderson, Roy Haffner, W-"

"Roy Haffner!" Castle said shocked.

"You know him?" Jane asked seriously as he sat down next to Castle.

"Yeah." Castle was still shocked. "Yeah, he owns a private security company here in Manhattan. I was thinking of having him upgrade my system."

"Where does he work?" Jane excitedly said.

"Uh... Oh!" Castle smiled "I've got a business card."


	8. ChameleonComedian

"What a mess." Jane complained as he stepped over the broken down door.

"Sorry, really. I thought it was something I should tell Beckett. How was I supposed to know S.W.A.T. would destroy the place?" Castle reasoned.

"Because it was obvious." Dexter chimed in as he followed Jane into the apartment leaving Castle alone in the hallway.

"I said I was sorry." Castle loudly pleaded then followed the two men inside.

Besides the door, on their messy entry S.W.A.T had also broken several vases and knocked over a single chair, but besides that the apartment could have been in an Ikea catalogue. The walls were a crystalline blue and there were potted plants everywhere you could look, the cabinets were pure, the appliances stainless steel, there were white couches and chairs, and a white area rug in the living room underneath a glass top coffee table. In the kitchen the Medical Examiner was waiting to see the body, while down the hall in the study the crime scene photographers had first dibs.

"Almost done?" Jane asked as he stepped into the heavily wooded study. The walls and floor were made from the same wood paneling, an enormous oak book shelf spanned the entire left wall, and a large oak desk took up most of the room on the right.

"Uh, yeah." said one of the two camera men in the room . "I'm done. You finished Johnny?"

"Yeah, I'm finished." the other photographer, Johnny replied, as he walked toward the door. "Are you Patrick Jane?" he asked.

"Yes, why?" Jane asked.

"Oh!" Castle exclaimed, as he walked into the room and saw the body. Everyone stopped to stare at him before returning to their conversations.

"There was a letter on top of the desk addressed to you. After I got a picture of it someone bagged it, it should still be here." The photographer explained.

"Do me a favour." Jane said kindly with his manipulative smile. "See if you can track it down for me." He finished patting the man on the shoulder, the photographer nodded and then followed his partner out of the room.

Dexter was the first to reach Haffner's body. "No defensive wounds." he said examining the victim. "The killer would have stood right here," Dexter said standing in front of the desk a pointing his fingers at Haffner's body like a gun. "Burn marks on forehead suggest he placed the gun right against the vic's head, and... Pshew." Dexter said making a shooting motion with his hand. "But the carving of the chest," Dexter went on as he walked to the other side of the desk to examine the body more closely. "The carving was done post-mortem, with a box cutter or a scalpel, but then he retraced the cut with another blade, much deeper and much less clean."

"How can you tell that?" Castle asked staring at Dexter dumbfounded.

"The skin is cut very precisely, but if you look inside the wound, the flesh is shredded suggesting something serrated, maybe a kitchen knife or a hunting knife, but my guess would be some type of hand saw." Dexter said flatly as he stood up. "Something wrong?" He asked Jane who was looking at him queerly.

"No." Jane replied plainly as he went to examine the body for himself.

"I don't get why he carved the face into the vic's chest." Castle said as he began digging through the desk drawers. "It's a change in his M.O. serial killers don't often do that."

"Red John is a showman." Jane explained. "He wants you to focus on the face, he wants you to know what's coming."

"But by carving the face into the victim, you see the face and the victim at the same time. You think this is a copycat?" Castle asked.

"That's the initial impression yes." Jane said as he began to look through Haffner's books.

"Mr. Jane," The photographer said nervously as he re-entered the room. "Your letter." He handed Jane the letter. "They say they want the letter back before you leave."

Jane smiled slyly. "Of course." He nodded and opened the letter.

_Hello Patrick,_

_You've done very well so far, your new team is much better than the old one don't you think? I am sorry I had to kill your one good lead, but Roy was weak, if you'd charged him he would have rolled over on me in a heartbeat. But he was useful, obedient, he was driven by fear; fear of his father who beat him, Bret Stiles whom he thought of as God, and fear of me, it made him easy to manipulate._

_He was the one who killed Hannah McKay and brought you all together. He was the one who blew up the 12th precinct and made you all stay together. So he did have his uses, but like your old team he too outlived his usefulness._

_Don't worry, nothing is going to blow up this time._

"He's taunting us." Jane said as he put the letter down.

"What did it say?" Castle said reaching for the letter.

"Haffner killed Hannah McKay, then he blew up the precinct. And when he was no longer useful Red John killed him." Jane said. "You won't find anything." He said to Castle. "If he left something it's because he wanted us to find it, he wouldn't have hidden it."

"What if there's something Roy hid." Castle said.

"He-" Jane was cut off.

"I've got something." Dexter exclaimed. " 'Visualize Life' by Bret Stiles, he's highlighted specific passages."

"So what it's a bible, people highlight passages that they connect with." Castle said automatically.

"Right, and that's just what he did in yellow." Dexter explained. "He highlighted passages about father figures, 'Honor thy father' generic stuff like that. But in blue he highlighted things like,_ 'The devil is someone you know', 'Do not look for me in the shadows for I am a creature of the light'_, it goes on like this. It's nothing I recognize."

"I had to do a lot of scripture research for my book,_ Hell Storm_," Castle began, "and I definitely don't recognize those lines."

"It could be, but if it is it's not a very helpful one." Patrick said as he walked out of the room with his head hung low.


	9. Fly Me To The Moon

**AN: Major changes coming to chapter 6**

* * *

"I don't know what to do anymore Lisbon. He used to be a step ahead of us, now it seems like he's playing both sides of the game." Jane said as he collapsed onto Lisbon's hotel room bed, his jacket ruffling around him.

"You're giving up?" Lisbon asked from the bathroom where she was towel drying her hair.

"What? No." Jane said surprised. "No I'm not giving up, but..."

"Jane, I get it." Lisbon said comfortingly. "It's been a hard couple of days. Out of the blue you're off to New York for a Red John case. Next thing you know the CBI building along with two others blow up, and Rigsby, Van Pelt, and Cho are dead. And you feel like it's your fault." She said as she walked out of the bathroom, dressed for bed in black underwear and a white loose hanging t-shirt, and sat down next to where Jane was laying; she put a hand on his chest, "It's not your fault." She told him softly, and paused to stare at him for a moment.

"Thanks for trying Lisbon." Jane said as he rolled over onto his side facing away from her.

"Jane," Lisbon sighed as she led back onto the bed her head not finding the pillow as she had intended. "Listen," she said as she rolled over and began to reach an arm around him.

"I'm going to get some sleep." Jane said standing up before Lisbon could catch him. "See you in the morning." He forced a smile and walked out of the room, completely oblivious.

"See you in the morning."

* * *

_Dexter._ The sound seemed to come as a whisper, from nowhere and everywhere all at once, as if it had been whispered by the air into his ears. _Dexter._ The whisper called again. _Dexter._

"Hannah." Dexter cried out as he awoke in the black of night. "Hannah." Dexter said again with a defeated air in his voice. "Hannah I'm sorry. I'm sorry I turned you into the police. I'm sorry I made you a wanted criminal. I'm sorry I got you killed. Hannah I'm sorry."

There was a knock on the door. "Dexter." A voice from the hallway called.

"Just a sec." Dexter called back once he realized the voice he had heard wasn't his deceased girlfriend's. Dexter glanced at the bedside clock, it was 3 in the morning, who would be knocking at his door at this hour? He got up to answer the door wearing only a pair of blue and white striped pajama pants. "Deb?" He said surprised as he answered the door. "What're you doing here?"

"Hello to you too." Debra said as she barged her way into the hotel room.

"Why didn't you call?" Dexter asked quizzically as he closed the door.

"I called dozens of times, you never answered your phone." Debra threw the bag she was carrying onto the floor.

"How did you find me?"

"I tracked your credit card to find out what hotel you were staying in, and I told the woman at the front desk I was your wife and I thought you were here with another woman, she seemed more than happy to tell me what room you were staying in." Debra said with a smile.

"Why did you come?" Dexter said with the brooding obnoxious tone of an older sibling.

"Dex, This guy didn't just kill Hannah Mckay, he also killed Quinn, Masuka, and a fuck ton of officers." Debra's voice breaks slightly but she remains in control. "You're not the only one with a horse in this race Dex."

* * *

"Hello?" a young woman's voice called into the darkness of her bedroom. "Is someone there?"

* * *

Castle woke up early in the morning, the sun was casting it's warm glow in through the windows, the white curtains catching its orange rays. He was sad to see his bed empty where Beckett had filled it in his dreams.

Through the walls he could hear singing coming from the kitchen. He threw on a shirt and made his way slowly and sleepily out of his bedroom. In the kitchen he found his mother Martha making pancakes while singing along with Sinatra's big band version of 'Fly Me To The Moon"

_"You are all I long for, all I worship and adore."_ Martha sang as Castle sat down on a stool.

"Cooking again?" Castle said as if it were something his mother should never be doing.

_"Hmm hmmm."_ Martha hummed and nodded in response.

_"In other words,"_ Castle said singing along.

_"In other words,"_ Martha responded.

"I love... ... ... You." They finished together with a smile as Martha poured her son a desperately needed cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Castle said as he eagerly sucked down the the hot black tar-like coffee his mother had poured him.

"How's the coffee?" Martha asked earnestly.

"Great." Castle lied smiling.

"What about Beckett, how is she?" Martha asked as she moved a pancake from the pan and onto her plate.

"Uh... not so great. She pretty much shut herself down after that day, she hasn't taken my calls, answered my texts,"

"Well did you try going over there?" Martha interrupted.

"Yes." Castle continued, "but she won't answer the door."

"How are you doing?" Martha asked as she sipped her coffee and balked at the taste. "Needs sugar." she said absentmindedly.

"Alright, I guess - all things considered." Castle said as he watched his mother pour spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her cup.

"You're still working the case without her?" Martha said still spooning sugar into her cup.

"Yeah, unofficially, but yes." Castle said.

"And your new team? What're they like?" Martha said as he added the 10th and final spoonful to a drink that can no longer be called 'coffee'. "Mmm, just right." Martha said smiling her toothy smile.

"Well, one of them is a Blood Spatter Analyst from Miami Metro PD, the girl that was killed, Hannah McKay, that was his girlfriend. And the other one is a consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation, ten years ago Red John killed his wife and daughter." Castle explained.

"Oh God!" Martha said looking aghast.

"Yeah." Castle agreed. "At both crimes scenes we've been to," he continued, "it's like we're not even seeing the same things. Dexter he sees the blood patterns and from that he recreates the murder scene by scene. Patrick, he gets inside Red John's head, he thinks the way he thinks, he knows Red John like... I don't want to say 'like the back of his hand' because it sounds cliche, but it's true." Castle said almost beaming.

"Do you think you'll catch him?" Martha said grounding her son before his enthusiasm lifted him out of the situation.

There was a brief pause where Castle honestly considered the stakes of potentially not catching Red John. Then he reassuringly said "Yes, we'll catch him."


	10. 9 Crimes

**AN****: ****Chapter**** 6 ****has ****been ****updated****. ****More ****Updates ****coming ****for ****the ****early ****chapters****.**

"Where am I?" a young woman shouts into the darkness of a cold metal room. She struggles to move but she is unable, her arms and legs are clamped to a hard metal chair. "HELP!" She screams, the words tearing at her throat like a chainsaw. "Somebody help!" She struggles desperately in her restraints hoping to wiggle an arm free so she could at least attempt to escape, but the effort is wasted, the restraints are too tight. "Help me!" She screamed again.

A blinding bright light is turned on, and shines in her face. A figure is standing directly in front of her, just a few feet away, completely shrouded in darkness. "Hello Alexis." The figure says in a soft high voice.

"What do you want from me!" Alexis screams back at the shadow, her tears starting to well-up in her eyes.

"Shh." The figure says calmly, raising a hand to make a gesture that Alexis can't see. "If you start screaming, I'll have to kill you." The figure says as he glides across the room until he is standing right in front of her. "And you are _so_beautiful, I would hate to have to do that." The shadow reached an arm out to stroke Alexis' long red hair as she begins to sob uncontrollably. "Shh." The figure says again, cupping her cheek. "Calm down Alexis. Calm down, and listen to the sound of my voice. It's alright, I won't hurt you." The soft voice says with a soothing tone.

"What do you want from me?" Alexis sobbed as she turned her face away from the invisible figure.

"What I want from you is very simple, and if you do it, no one will have to die." The figure moved its hand to her chin and forced her look up at him, though she couldn't see anything.

Alexis nodded her head vigorously.

* * *

_Okay__, __okay__. __I __can __do __this__._ Alexis told herself as she unlocked the door to her father's apartment and picked up the heavy black duffle bag off of the floor.

_This __is __wrong__._ The rational part of her brain told her. _You __should __have __gone __to __the __police__._

_If __you __went __to __the __police __they __would __have __killed __you__, __your __dad__, __Beckett__, __and __Grandma__, __you __couldn__'__t __let __that __happen__._ The part of her brain she assumed was common sense told her.

_No__, __I __guess __not__._ Her rational side responded. _But __if __you __went __to __the __police __they __could __protect __them__._

_Just __shut __up__!_ She told the two sides of her brain that were arguing. _We__'__re __doing __this__. __That__'__s __final__. _Alexis walked into what used to be her home, carrying the heavy bag, she stumbled and almost tripped on the floor mat, she suddenly found herself feeling very light-headed. The shadowy figure had told her this might happen, residual effects of the M99 he'd used to sedate her. She took a minute to steady herself against the wall before she continued.

Alexis walked more surefootedly into the living room, she placed the bag gently onto the heavily cushioned white couch and swiftly unzipped it; she wanted to be done with this as fast as she could be.

She carefully took out one of the dozens of small microphones she had in the bag and attached an even smaller bluetooth transmitter to it, when the two were put together they were no bigger than her thumb nail. She added a layer of adhesive to the backside and glued it to the underside of the coffee table.

_This __is __so __wrong__, __this __is __so __so __wrong__!_ The rational side of her brain said as she began attaching more transmitters to more microphones. Alexis placed the microphones all over the house as the figure had instructed, there were four in the living room, three in the kitchen, two in each of the three bedrooms, two in each bathroom and two more in a lighting fixture that hung in between the kitchen and living room.

Once she finished hiding all of the microphones, she turned them on and synced all of the small bluetooth transmitters to a larger radio transmitter, and she hid it in an air duct in the living room. Then it was time for the cameras.

Her father already had a state of the art security system that included several cameras throughout the house that all connected to a receiver in her father's office. All she had to do was switch the existing with a receiver that doubled as a radio transmitter, but it wasn't that simple. The receiver had dozens of cables going in and out if it, they weren't colour coded or labeled and the two receivers were different models so there was no way to know which cable went where. Most input cables were the same so there wouldn't be any problems with the order of the cables, the power cable was easy to find and plug back in but there were two other cables and she had no clue where they could go, there were too many inputs to know for sure.

She tried one input but the input was too shallow. As she pulled the cable out she heard a noise from the other room. _"__Shit __shit __shit__!" _she shouted under her breathe. She walked out slowly into the living room trying to project a cool and calm image but she knew she must have looked guilty as anything.

"Alexis." Martha said shocked as she took a pair of oversized sunglasses. The sun wasn't out so Alexis had no idea why her grandmother was wearing them but she was far too nervous to ask questions. "What are you doing here?" Martha asked as she walked over to hug her granddaughter. "Not that I don't love seeing you of course." She finished when she pulled away from the hug.

"Oh, uh... You know, just uh..." Alexis stalled to find an excuse. "Just... Doing some laundry!" She said so quickly it sounded as if it were all one word. "Yeah just doing some laundry. That's why the bag's here, yup." She said trying to play it cool.

"Oh very well dear. I just came to steal a bottle of your father's wine." Martha said with a conniving smile. "He's cooking dinner," She began to explain, "and I promised I'd bring a bottle of nice wine." Martha gave out a short laugh and Alexis laughed nervously along.

"Good, good, thats... good." Alexis said with a fearful smile.

"Sorry I can't stay dear, I'd love to catch up but my date is in a few minutes and I don't want to be late. Don't tell your father about this." Martha said as she rushed out of the kitchen with a bottle of white wine in her hands.

"No no no, don't worry. Go, have fun." Alexis said, her tone almost begging her grandmother to leave.

"See you dear." Martha called as she blew a kiss goodbye and walked out of the room.

As soon as she heard the door click shut she ran back into the office and plugged the cables into the first place they fit, and ran out of the apartment and the building just as fast, carrying a heavy conscience, a thunderously beating heart and and empty duffle bag.


	11. Leaves, Trees, Forest

**AN****: ****Chapters**** 2 & 3 ****have ****been ****updated****.**

**BTW ****the ****new ****episode ****of ****the ****mentalist ****that ****airs ****on ****April**** 14****th ****is ****called**** "****Red ****Letter ****Day****" ****lol ****I ****love ****it****!**

"Jane?" Lisbon said nervously as she pushed open the door to Jane's hotel room. "Jane, no one's seen you in two days, what's going on?"

"Working." Jane said loudly and authoritatively without thinking.

"Yeah. I can see that." Lisbon paused. "On what?" She asked.

"The list." Jane said in a normal tone as he turned and stood up to look at her. He was disheveled to say the least, his hair was a mess, his shirt was untucked and wrinkled, and he stank of sweat and coffee which threw Lisbon, because Jane never drank coffee.

"Jane?" Lisbon began cautiously. "When was the last time you slept?" She asked in the concerned tone she usually used when dealing with her alcoholic father.

"Uh... I don't know." Jane admitted. "But I know who Red John is." He said with his giddy grin.

"You do? Who is it?" Lisbon said in shock and amazement.

"Well, it's not that simple. But I've narrowed the list down significantly." Jane said losing and then regaining the smile as he went.

"Who are the suspects?" Lisbon asked still eager.

"Well we know Red John had to go to New York and Miami right? Or else he couldn't have put the new team together. So he has to be capable of traveling across the country without raising suspicion. Who can do that?" Jane asked smiling a sly smile like he knew something Lisbon didn't.

"Mashbourne." Lisbon offered.

"No not him, him and me, well I wouldn't call us friends necessarily but we're not enemies either. But Bret Stiles, Jason Cooper, Ray Haffner but he's dead, Dean Harken-"

"Patrick!" Lisbon interrupted. "You're losing it. Cooper doesn't fit the criteria, he doesn't have hair, and he's too short, he can't be Red John. You need some sleep."

"He could have glued a wig to his head, or..." Jane stumbled for words. "I don't know, but I'm not excluding him because he's bald."

"Jane!" Lisbon shouted again. "Lie down. and get some sleep. You can't catch Red John if you never sleep."

"Bu-" Jane protested, but gave in a moment later without another word.

"Good." Lisbon said as Jane crawled on top of his bed and closed his eyes.

"Night Lisbon." Jane called out as Lisbon turned to leave.

"It's morning Jane." Lisbon called back as she shut the door.

"Where is he?" Dexter asked as Lisbon strode back into Castle's apartment which had now become their unofficial meeting area.

"Sleeping." Lisbon answered politely, as if in that one word begging their forgiveness. "He hasn't done it in days"

"Great." Dexter said angrily. "Is he any further in the case at least?"

"Yeah, he's narrowed down Red John to a few people who could fly accross the country without being noticed." Lisbon informed them.

"How many people are we talking about?" Castle asked leaning forward in his seat.

"I don't know he listed off a few but there could have been more." Lisbon answered just as another question was thrown her way.

"Who were they?" Beckett asked, but someone else chimed in before Lisbon could answer her.

"We could just make our own list." It was Castle who offered up the suggestion. "We have all his files, we'd just have to narrow it down to only rich men."

"And men whose jobs require them to move around a lot." Debra offered when she saw a whole in Castle's parameters.

"But anyone can travel undetected using just a fake ID." Dexter added pessimistically.

There was a long stretching silence where no one said anything. No one else had anything to add that couldn't easily be deflated.

"Anyone have any better ideas?" Lisbon asked.

The door opened with a creak and a man popped his head into the room. Castle, Beckett, Dexter, Debra and Lisbon were all sleeping around the coffee table in the middle the room. Some slept on the long "L" shaped couch, but more slept on the floor, all wearing the same clothes they'd had on the day before. Files and photographs had spilled out across much of the room, the photos gently reflecting the sun's low morning light.

"So." Jane called loudly into the room as he slammed the door behind himself. "What did we find out about the case?" All of them jumped out of their slumbers scared out of their skins, except for Castle, who continued to snore noisily.

"We..." Lisbon began but gave up as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Coffee." She told Jane as she pointed to the coffee machine.

"Of course." Jane smiled and began brewing the coffee as the others grumbled and moaned.

Once everyone had their cup of coffee, and Jane his cup of tea he asked them again. "You seem to have been busy." Jane said pointing with his eyes at the mess of scattered files. "Make any progress?"

"Yeah." Castle responded readily. "We think it's either Walter Mashburn or Bret Stiles. They're the only one's with the resources to pull off an attack of this scale."

"No, it can't be Mashburn. Laurelie said - and I quote - 'I'm amazed the two of you _didn__'__t_ become instant _friends_ the moment you shook hands.' Therefor Mashburn can't be Red John because he's my friend." Jane said looking exasperated.

"Why not? That's what I'd do if I were Red John. Become your friend, gain your trust." Dexter said nonchalantly sipping his coffee. "Anything to make you suspect me less."

Jane stopped for a second to stare at Dexter who was still sipping his coffee, before pressing forward. "I suppose." Jane conceded.

"They also fit best with all the evidence." Beckett added as she refilled her mug. "The writing in blood, the-"

"Ye- I know what the evidence is." Jane stopped Beckett.

"So," Lisbon began hopefully. "Where should we start?"


End file.
